Dr. Jerry Johnston Interviews Dr. Lou Markos

18 February 2019

Dr. Louis Markos is the Robert H. Ray Chair in Humanities, scholar-in-residence and professor of English in the HBU School of Humanities. He is an authority on C.S. Lewis and ancient Greece and Rome. He is a thoughtful author and a lively speaker and teacher.

Dr. Louis Markos talks about his love of Houston Baptist University and the School of Humanities with Dr. Jerry Johnston, VP of Innovation and Strategic Marketing. “One of the things that attracted me to Houston Baptist – I’ve been here 26 years – is that you get to be a generalist,” Markos says of his diverse areas of study and interest. “HBU inspires the interdisciplinary approach – those who are part of the great conversation.”

With his students, in his writings, and in his talks with community members, Markos focuses on finding commonalities. “I find if you ask the big questions: ‘Who am I? Why am I here? What is my purpose?’, and if we avoid some of the jargon words, we can build a bridge,” he says. “We all understand there is a moral, ethical code. We all have a desire and yearning for meaning. Most people in America want to know what their purpose is.”

Describing his role model, C.S. Lewis, Markos says, “He brought together reason and imagination in a way that no one has done. As a writer, Lewis believes in the Bible, but he understands that many of his readers don’t. You need to find common ground and then draw them to the Bible. How are you going to tell them about Christ if they don’t believe in God?”

Markos quotes C.S. Lewis, who said, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it, I see everything else.” At HBU, Athens and Jerusalem come together. “Houston Baptist is not just about the Christian Gospel, although that’s the center of the Christian worldview,” says Markos. “It’s a worldview that has something to say about every single subject and matter of life. We have a touchstone against which we can measure things.”